A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome to Chapter 9. I hope you all enjoy this update and R&R. Did you all like the the end of Chapter 8?

Chapter 9

She shivered. She was wet, cold, hungry, and the rain wouldn't stop. In her mind all she could think about was Yomi and Shura and where they were. Had they gone on? Had they moved on from her? Was she still just a stupid human that was just causing them trouble?

She leaned her head back. All she had ever been was an average girl with average grades and an obnoxious attitude. Then she thought about something else, she hadn't thought about home at all since she had met Yomi. She hadn't thought about much beyond the soreness in her feet and the at-home feeling she had when she was with Yomi and Shura. She was safe and secure and now because of her foolishness, she was probably going to be eaten by that demon that had threatened her the other day. She was just an idiot.

NO! She still had time to fix this! She stood up clenching her fist in a new resolve. She would not burden anyone, especially Yomi and Shura, anymore! Besides it wasn't like her to sit here and pity herself like this! She should be enjoying life! She couldn't do anything about anything until it stopped raining then she would find Yomi or she'd be eaten alive. Either way, that's how it rolled. That's how she rolled. Unlike her parents, who had to plan every detail of their life, she wanted to be surprised by the unexpected. If she was going to die here, she didn't want it to be in a ball on the ground feeling sorry for herself; She would do it knowing that she went out her way. With the knowledge that she tried her best and even if she failed and was painfully ripped to shreds and eaten, she at least tried.

Though, it scared her senseless to die like that. She sighed and relaxed against the rock. It was so quiet. She wanted to wear her class ring. Maybe having some grounding would settle her down.

She would be going home soon, if she survived that is. She smiled at the rain as it fell with all of its might. She used to love dancing in the rain with Jessica with Mika yelling at them to get inside and get dried off before they got sick then drinking coffee with way to much sugar and playing her guitar to the beat of the rain on the roof.

The rain is magic, she thought to herself, it had the power to soothe the world. Anytime the world was in pain, the rain would cradle it and lull it back to sleep.

That had to go into a song. She pulled her guitar and started to play low and slow, making up some words and suddenly she was lost in her own world with only the rain to keep her company.

Keihai was smart. He knew better than to attack the human when Yomi or his brat was around. Her delicious scent was overwhelming though. He broke formation the previous night and it had cost him his men. He would be more careful this time besides the human had left her guard. She was like a sheep and he was the wolf. Keihai walked closer making sure to flood out his senses so if Yomi was using her as bait he wouldn't be caught enjoying his snack. Also he had to be on the alert for the HRT. They were closing in but since Hiei had went to Human World they were slower and gave him an advantage. As he stepped closer he could hear her strumming the strings of her guitar and humming a low tune. It was soft and sweet, he wondered how she would sound after he ripped her throat out? He gave a sneer with a light chuckle. He wanted to wait just in case it was a trap. Yomi may have been removed from his throne but everyone knew that he had been king for a reason. He was smart and one of the most powerful demons in a class of his own with Raizen. He and his men had been forced into submission by Raizen centuries ago then he went and got himself messed up on some human girl and then went against eating humans. Pathetic. And now Yomi was doing the same thing. If anything Yomi should thank him for doing him a service such as removing this girl. But in the end, he no longer was a part of Raizen's ranks but had new employers. He had customers to serve and customer service was his middle name. Besides he always reaped the benefits. He smiled. It was time to move in. He started forward when she stood up, sitting aside her guitar but still happily humming. She walked out into the pouring rain. In a matter of seconds she was drenched. She looked up and closed her eyes. He stopped observing her. She sighed and breathed deep then looked around.

"Puddles!" She yelled excitedly and started jumping around puddle to puddle, splashing water everywhere.

It was like watching a five-year-old in her new rain boots. He about fell over from the shock. She couldn't be serious! He felt like she was taunting him. He moved in the trees looking for a way to surprise her.

Melody was puddle-jumping when she heard some rustling. It was probably that demon from before. She stopped and looked around but didn't see anything. She did a 180 and turned around to turn right into the very face of the demon. Keihai smiled, his red hair was long and draped to one side and the same color as his eyes- blood red. He wore a black shirt that showed his chest and red pants. He grinned as he saw the fear light up in her eyes. He revealed long sharp teeth looking like a shark having two rows of teeth. His nails lengthened into sharp points like talons.

"A-are you that demon from before?" suddenly the fear was retreating from her blue eyes.

"I am, my name is Keihai" His voice was a deep growl. She stood firm as if she was studying him. He towered over her by at least a foot but here she was starting to tilt her head as if curious.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"Devour then kill you" He corrected.

"Well… at least I got to play in the rain first" she sounded so resigned as she shrugged. She was really taking the fun out of this.

"If you beg I might kill you first then start eating you"

"Orrrr…."

"Or?"

"You could tell me which way to get home"

He had to laugh "And why would I do that?"

"Yomi said that the HRT thingy was looking for me. So wouldn't you get in trouble if they find my blood on you?"

He inhaled her scent. "At this point, I don't care. Human is a delicacy here now-a-days." He moved behind her, she moved her head to follow him "and I don't plan on wasting my treat especially since that was the deal. I chase you, I catch you, I eat you. Then I give anything personal on you to my employer and then we start all over again with a new human. That's how it works."

"What deal?"

"It's a game humans play with other humans. How long can this human last in demon world? If they win then they get a lot of money and have no clue how they got it. If they lose, I get to eat them. So either way I win"

"I'm still confused, what game?"

"It doesn't matter"

"What do you me-?"

He bit into her, cutting off her sentence. His claws hooked into her sides like meat hooks. Her flesh was just as he thought it would be. The shoulder was his favorite because of the tenderness and juiciness. She yelled out and grabbed onto him instinctively trying to push him away. Blood splashed on the ground and down his face and throat. The taste was amazing, of all the other humans, she had the sweetest taste. He bit harder, deeper, severing her muscle and tendons hitting the bones and crunched through them.

The pain was worse than she realized it was going to be. She yelled out and clawed at him impulsively to get him off. It was hot. It was numbing. She felt dizzy. Her vision was already going dark. Waves were swimming in front of her and everything was inaudible. She knew it, in that moment she was going to die. She had half expected to walk out of this world and back into her own alive.

His jaw went lax before she realized she was falling backwards. He had let go. Blood covered the ground but she couldn't feel it. Was all of her blood seeping onto the ground? Was it raining still? She was never going to see Jessica or Mika or Ron. What had she done with her life? Had she lived the way she wanted to? So many thoughts raced through her head. She was swimming and starting to drown, everything was shutting down. The pain was almost irrelevant. Was it rain or tears she felt on her cheeks?

Laying on the ground before she passed out she thought she had seen something green. A flash of black hair and something vibrated the very air. It made her think of-

"Yomi" she whispered as she faded out, a blurred figure approaching.